The EpiPen is a reliable, handy and lifesaving allergy treatment that many parents carry in their bags in cases of emergency. However, from its cost of $100 back in 2008, the price of an EpiPen has jacked up to as much as 400 percent in recent months.
Parents of kids suffering from serious allergies are beside themselves with the price increase. The senate intends to look into why its pharmaceutical manufacturer has increased the price at such an astronomical scale.
NBC reports that the EpiPen is a crucial back-to-school item for many parents whose children suffer from terrible and life-threatening allergies. The device serves to administer epinephrine to prevent a child from going into anaphylactic shock in case of an accidental peanut ingestion or bee sting.
However, complaints have reached family doctors about some parents' inability to buy the EpiPen now due to its $500 and above cost. The other problem? These parents have no choice because there is only one remaining manufacturer of the EpiPen: Mylan.
As a physician I don't understand and I can't explain why EPI-PEN is so expensive or why insurance only covers a small amount. WHY? #epipen
— David Feig MD MPH (@hamlet423) August 19, 2016
Forbes report that as the only supplier, it's partly one of the reasons why the company can dictate the price and gain monopoly of the market. Its competitor, Sanofi, used to market their own brand of EpiPen as well. However, Sanofi was forced to drop the product due to a recall by the FDA in 2015. The federal agency also rejected a cheaper generic type of EpiPen in March, per Raps.
A Senate Judiciary Committee will soon take place to investigate on the EpiPen price increase. To start with, senators have already sent Mylan a letter to explain how they determine the price. In a reply via Huffinton Post, a Mylan spokesperson said their company has been donating hundreds of thousands of EpiPens in schools across the United States and many insured patients can receive this for free. The company also cited health insurance deductibles as one of the factors to the EpiPen's increasing cost.
Is your family dependent on the EpiPen? What do you hope the investigation will come out? Let us know in the comments!
